How to Get the Fitness Results You Deserve!

As a personal trainer, every day I see women and men who are unhappy with what they look like. And interestingly, they’re not necessarily people who don’t exercise or eat right! There’s a lot of people out there who put in the effort but aren’t getting the results they want. Are you one of them? If so, this article’s for you. It’s not nearly as hard as many of us think to get the body you want. But, it does take understanding a few simple truths about what to avoid and what to do to get the fitness results you deserve.

 

Things to Avoid

1. Over-training!

In a world where we’re told to work hard to get results, it’s pretty easy for this belief to filter over into the world of exercise. But, FORTUNATELY, you don’t need to train 6 days a week with multiple sessions on some days to get results. Overworking your body will just encourage your powerful hormones to stop any extra body fat from budging.

How do you know you’re training too much? Keep an eye out for:

  • Persistent muscle soreness
  • Increase in sickness and injury
  • Difficulties in sleeping
  • Moodiness and/or depression
  • Loss of motivation
  • Reaching a weight plateau or gaining weight without reason

 

2. Lack of Intensity

To create real change, you need to push yourself out of your comfort zone. It’s ok to sweat, feel your muscles burning and feel a bit uncomfortable as you exercise. Not only will it help you to get results, you’ll also gain a new understanding of how mentally strong you are. Just remember not to do anything that causes pain or compromises proper form.

 

3. Doing Too Much Cardio

Long sessions on the elliptical or bike aren’t very effective at burning fat. In fact, they can actually encourage your body to hold onto fat while it burns lean muscle. Instead, switch up your workouts with the suggestions made at the end of this article.

 

4. Avoid Extremes

The best long-term progress comes from a healthy and sustainable lifestyle, not extreme diets and/or exercise programs. If you’re a serial dieter or ‘challenger’, shift your mindset away from quick results and focus on feeling strong and healthy for years to come. Learn to exercise in ways make you feel good. Eat a variety of whole foods knowing that it’s ok to enjoy the occasional treat. It doesn’t mean you’ve fallen off the bandwagon!

 

What to Do to Get the Fitness Results You Deserve

1. Aim for Consistency, Not Perfection

If you usually have an all or nothing approach, learn to be ok with backtracking or hitting pause without feeling the need to punish yourself. Sometimes life happens and you’ll need to take a day off. It doesn’t mean you’ve thrown the towel in. Aim for long-term consistency and forgive yourself when you’re not perfect!

 

2. Accept Your Body

You’ll probably have heard this one a lot lately. But, I’m saying it again because it’s really important! You may not like your arms, stomach or thighs but hating on it’s not going to change your genetics. Instead, learn to love and accept yourself the way you are. Yes, you might like your body better when you’re a bit more in shape but love it now anyway.

 

3. Respect Your Body

Make it a non-negotiable task to always get enough sleep, rest and feed yourself with nutrient-rich, feel good foods. Let your body tell you when and how much to eat, how hard you can push today and when your body needs a well-deserved rest. Trust yourself and forget the ‘rules’ that make it easy to miss those natural cues.

 

4. Train Smarter

Instead of over-training, learn use your active time wisely. Women’s body’s respond really well to a combination of HIIT and resistance training. Muscle is your best friend when it comes to looking good and helping with weight loss. So, don’t be afraid of increasing your lean muscle mass. No matter how hard you try, you won’t start looking like a man.

 

Your Action To Get the Fitness Results You Deserve

What can you do today or this week to change your approach to your body and weight loss?

Remember, if it hasn’t worked for you in the past, it most probably won’t work any better tomorrow. So, choose one of these tips and get the fitness results you deserve!

If you’d like help putting together a smarter, not harder training plan, contact me today about personal training in St Kilda.